COALITION FOR CRITICAL CHANGE, Twin Cities

6/2015
Re: Request for Elimination of SROs from Minneapolis Schools and Reallocation of Funds
This is a follow-up to continued concerns over the school to prison pipeline expressed by the
Coalition for Critical Change at our School Board Candidate Forum of October 2014 and our
School Arrest Data Community Forum of April 2015. We are joined by the Social Justice
Education Movement in this request to end the SRO contract and reallocate funds towards
restorative justice alternatives. Our coalition consists of education professionals, parents, former
students, legal experts, community members, and professors.
The school to prison pipeline, here as elsewhere, is driven indirectly via suspension/expulsion
and more directly by a police presence in the schools. The results here as elsewhere, are racially
disparate, with students of color in schools that are segregated by race and class being
criminalized at school.
Minneapolis Public Schools continue to run a school to prison pipeline for students of color
and/or students with a designated disability. Despite a recent resolution agreement between the
Minneapolis School District and the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights and a
short-lived moratorium, suspensions have now nearly doubled and remain marred by racial
disproportionality. Suspensions, expulsions and arrests in Minneapolis Public Schools reveal
some of the highest racial gaps in the nation.
Black students are 4x more likely to be suspended/expelled than their white peers.
Black students are 9% of all students and nearly 25% of all referrals to police.
Black students are referred to the courts from MPS at a rate of more than 20 per 1000 as
compared to a rate of 6 per 1000 for white students.
American Indian students and students with disabilities are also at higher risk than the
national average for suspension, expulsion and/or arrest at school.
This systemic racism is directly related to other persistent indicators of racial inequity in the City
of Minneapolis including residential and educational segregation and a variety of opportunity gaps
in education, wealth/employment and policing/punishment. These must be immediately addressed
to advance the stated goals of equity and inclusion citywide. The Minneapolis City Council has
provided outstanding leadership on these matters. We urge the Minneapolis Board of Education to
do the same.
We are requesting the following actions:

A complete moratorium on all school suspensions;

An acceleration of the SRO reduction plan with the goal of complete elimination of SROs
in the Minneapolis Public Schools by 2016;

A reallocation of funds from SROs towards social workers, conflict resolution specialists,
and other supportive personnel.

Thank you for your consideration.

A PROPOSAL FOR ALTERNATIVES TO SROS

Coalition for Critical Change and Social Justice Education Movement
Minneapolis Public Schools and the City of Minneapolis spend a combined $1.5 million to provide
16 School Resource Officers (SROs), uniformed Minneapolis Police Department officers who
spend their entire duty day in our childrens schools. What could be done with that money that
would contribute to closing the opportunity gap for Students of Color in Minneapolis public
schools?
WHY WE NEED TO REMOVE SROs.
There are SROs who have good relationships with kids. That is not the issue here. The position itself
leads us to call for the removal of police from the schools. Budgets are statements of values. If we
are serious about dismantling the school to prison pipeline, then school and city budgets must reflect
this goal. SROs move us in the wrong direction. We are concerned about the following:

Police in the schools lead to arrests and put students on a pathway towards the school to
prison pipeline. This is the case despite the minor nature of the so-called crimes;
approximately 90% of arrests at Minneapolis Public Schools are for misdemeanors.
Youth of color, especially African American students, are most at risk for arrest at school.
The racial gaps in suspension, expulsion and arrest in Minneapolis Public Schools are
amongst the highest in the nation.
Even when students are not arrested, if they are seen interacting with SROs the can be seen
by other students and teachers as problem children. They become criminalized within their
learning community.
A uniformed police officer in the building makes some parents uncomfortable, discouraging
parents from coming into the school. We need parents and community members in the
schools.
Having armed police officers greeting students and families provides a clear negative
message. It assumes that students are criminals who need to be controlled. The message
that kids and families should be getting when they step into school is that this is a house of
learning where students will be valued and nurtured. Learning is fun and intrinsically
valuable. School should be a sanctuary where the needs of children come first.
10 ALTERNATIVE USES OF $1.5 MILLION

Provide transformative justice training for all teachers.

Engage 30 community outreach workers
Hire 15 full time teachers to provide Ethnic Studies classes.
Provide 25 tutors for all students who need it for AP courses.
Hire 15 School Social workers to provide school based mental health services.
Eliminate fees for non-academic after school courses
Employ 25 K-3 Educational Assistants to provide regular education supports.
Fund a field trip to Penumbra Theater for every student in the district.
Hire 15 new school nurses.
Provide insurance coverage to allow for expanded community partnerships with the schools
Free up all school guidance counselors from scheduling and/or test coordinating duties so
they can focus on the needs of the kids not the needs of the district.